Preserving Old Things On Paper

Sally Hansen Air Brush Medium Glow

You can buy all sorts of archival storage material, documents should never be sprayed with anything, and framing them exposed them to sun damage, so it's best not to do it. If you do, then get glass that filters ultraviolet light, and use archival framing material.

Use conservation or museum glass in your frame.

Thanks, r2. Do you recommend anything specific? The items in question are a combination of drawings/text in marker and ink. I have no idea what the paper is.

Thanks, r3

Have it professional framed.

I endorse the suggestions from R2 and R3. Depending on how valuable these documents are to you, and how much you are willing to spend, you may want to consult a specialist in conservation of paper materials.

I went to art school so we did this a lot. You need acid free paper if you are drawing something from scratch and want it to stay white for decades. If its something you already have on paper you need a UV Spray Fixative. Go to an Art Supply Store or online, not Home Depot.

r7, they're not mine. My mother asked me to help her with them as a gift to her for Christmas. But I don't actually know anything about preserving art/documents/prints/anything. So…I'm asking you, because DL knows just about everything.

Lightly mist them with some lemon pledge. It creates a wax that prevents sun damage

No, R10, you get waxy yellow buildup.

Modern markers are often impermanent and will fade in light, so since you don't know what type of marker do not frame it without UV glass. You can buy acid free mylar folders so you can take drawings and put them there and be able to leaf through them when you want. Gaylord had been making archival storage items for decades so look through the link I gave for what suits you.

Lemon Pledge works. It what they used to preserve the Constitution

r11, these two things are dated '84 and '86 so I don't know if that counts as 'modern' markers -? She's had them framed and hanging in a fairly dim hallway for the last maybe fifteen years. I think they were in her study and exposed to more light before then. It's the (black) ink really that's faded the most, with one exception of a drawing in yellow marker in a corner of one of the pieces.

R12, many people pledge the constitution only to betray it, like Mitch McConnell.

OP, markers are relatively new in the arsenal of art materials, and with so many makers and brands they would be a conservationist's problem, like the hay embedded in some Anselm Kiefer paintings.

Since they have faded some already you might want to get them framed in UV glass. The other option would be to put them in a mylar archival folder that can be looked at like a book and can hold a number of pieces.

You need to use "acid-free" materials to frame these items. Otherwise you get "foxing" (brown spots) on the paper. I would recommend UV plexi-glass over glass. Plexi might be more expensive, but will be more lightweight and will be shatter-free. Make sure the glass or plexi is not actually touching the item that you are framing. (Need to have a little breathing space between the plexi/glass and the paper item.)

These things will inevitably continue fading, though. You might want to get a high-quality scanner and scan these items.

That’s probably your best bet, OP. If you can copy them, at least she’ll have a copy that won’t deteriorate any further to look at when the original goes.

I have some really old pictures of my parents and grandparents. I copied them and display the copies, not the originals. The copies have faded some, especially ones displayed in brighter areas. The originals go in a drawer in the coolest room of the house, as low to the ground as possible. Bottom of a closet in the most interior part of the house, in the back. When you make your copies, make several sets.

Whatever you do, don’t let them get too hot. Heat damage can age them faster or discolor them. My grandparents had very old photographs in frames. They were kept in a dark room that was the coolest room in the house.

I also have some photos and lobby cards from the 1930s. Those go in the coolest room, with heavy drapes, that never gets direct light. They’ve held up surprisingly well.

Also, don't roll any of these paper items. Keep them flat.

Get the Matte finish.

I'm scanning them at super high resolution right now. They're much more fragile than I expected.

Put the copies in mattes when you frame them. That keeps the image away from the glass. Sometimes paper or photographic art can stick to the glass, especially if it gets hot. Framed, matted art is safer for longer.

Get an archival box to store the originals.